Hvolsvöllur (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈkʰvɔlsˌvœtlʏr̥, ˈxʷɔls-]) is a town in the south of Iceland about 106 km to the east of Reykjavík.
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Overview
The name of the town literally translates to "Hillfield". Hvoll [ˈkʰvɔtl̥, ˈxʷɔtl̥] (hvols [ˈkʰvɔls, ˈxʷɔls] in the genitive case) is an archaic form of the modern Icelandic word hóll [ˈhoutl̥], meaning "hill", and völlur [ˈvœtlʏr̥] means "field". The name is derived from the name of the historic farm Stórólfshvoll ([ˈstouːroul(f)sˌkʰvɔtl̥, -ˌxʷɔtl̥], "Stórólfur's hill").
The town of Hvolsvöllur has a population of 1,108 inhabitants. Around 900 people live the wider municipality (surrounding rural area).
The Ring Road (Route 1) passes through the town. 30 km east of Hvolsvöllur is the recently constructed port of Landeyjahöfn, where the ferry to Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) operates from. Hvolsvöllur is notable in that it is one of the only Icelandic towns which is not situated on the coast or by a river.
The town's economy is largely based on the service and tourism industry. It is an important service point for travellers and the local rural population serving large part of southern Iceland, the next town being Vík, 80 km to the east. The largest single employer in the area is Sláturfélag Suðurlands (SS), which has a large meat processing plant in the town - it notably manufactures the Icelandic SS hot dog.
The town has one of the best kindergarten and primary schools in the country, as well as a sports centre housing an outdoor swimming pool. The town has a geothermal district heating system, operated since 1981 using a 95 °C geothermal borehole from Laugaland. The transmission pipe from the borehole to the town is 23 km long. The same system also serves Hella as well as the surrounding rural area and is currently owned by Orkuveita Reykjavíkur.
In 2010, the volcanic eruptions at Eyjafjallajökull caused evacuations in the surrounding area, with people being relocated to Hvolsvöllur, where Red Cross mass care centres had been set up.
Points of Interest
The area is the scene of a well-known saga of Iceland, Njál's saga. Hvolsvöllur houses the LAVA Museum which focusus on Iceland's volcanic and geological history.
Stórólfshvolskirkja [ˈstouːroul(f)sˌkʰvɔlsˌcʰɪr̥ca, -ˌxʷɔls-] is a Protestant church in Hvolsvöllur. It was built in 1930 and can seat 120 people. The interior was painted in 1955. Above the altar there is a painting by Þórarin B. Þorláksson, an Icelandic painter, dating from 1914 which shows Jesus blessing the children.
At the centre of the town is a 45m tall telecommunications tower, erected in 1976 and operated by Míla. In 2022 the tower was fitted with Christmas lights, which were lit up during the winter, claiming to be the 'tallest Christmas lights in Iceland'.
Climate
Similar to the rest of the southern coast of Iceland, Hvolsvöllur has a subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfc) with cool summers and cold winters, although relatively mild for its high latitude. Precipitation is abundant year round, with October usually seeing the most precipitation.
Sports
Ungmennafélagið Hekla
Knattspyrnufélag Rangæinga